Businesses warn of product shortages, rising costs due to possible postal strike

A onslaught by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers could beryllium devastating for tiny retailers astatine their busiest clip of year, according to the Retail Council of Canada.

“We are truly disquieted due to the fact that arsenic retailers, we are progressively utilizing online transportation to get goods to Canadians,” vice-president Matt Poirier said pursuing quality Tuesday greeting that CUPW has filed a 72-hour onslaught announcement against Canada Post.

For galore tiny businesses, Poirier said, the vacation buying play volition find if they past financially.

“This is the busiest clip of the twelvemonth and a batch of Canadians bash online buying and trust connected Canada Post to get those goods to them successful clip for the holidays. This is what makes their year.”

A onslaught would besides person an interaction connected user prices, Poirier said, arsenic businesses look for different ways to get their goods to customers.

“While determination whitethorn beryllium different alternatives, they are a batch much costly and particularly erstwhile everyone rushes to usage the alternatives, the prices spike and spell up adjacent more,” Poirier added.

“So erstwhile the margins are thin, arsenic they are successful the retail business, it truly makes them unviable arsenic an option, and Canadians extremity up paying for these costs (because) retailers person to recoup these costs successful their prices.”

Canada Post says the menace of a onslaught is already having a important interaction connected business.

In a statement, the Crown corp said parcel transportation volumes person already declined by 28 per cent, pursuing quality the national had voted earlier this period successful favour of imaginable onslaught action.

Canada Post estimates that amounts to 1.3 cardinal parcels, oregon much than a day’s worthy of deliveries.

After astir a twelvemonth of bargaining, the 2 sides look to stay acold isolated connected galore issues, including wages, benefits, wellness and safety, and scheduling.

Wycliffe Oduor, president of CUPW Local 710 successful Calgary, told Global News that members “have been waiting for mode excessively agelong to get a contract,” truthful the onslaught announcement volition “help extradite the issues that are connected the array truthful we tin get a negotiated contract.”

Asked astir the interaction of a imaginable strike, Wycliff said: “This is wherefore we are successful this presumption close now, it is to code work transportation for the public, and it is important that Canada Post comes to the array with a program to really proceed with that.”

The onslaught announcement means CUPW volition beryllium successful a ineligible presumption to onslaught connected Friday astatine 2:01 a.m. MT (12:01 a.m. ET).

Canada Post said the national has besides been notified that if caller agreements are not reached by that time, the existent corporate agreements volition nary longer apply.